Xena groaned at being led around, but allowed it for the sake of her answers. She didn't care that others around them stared in amazement at their queen leading around a warrior many had come to refer to as "The Beast." Xena didn't care about much of anything, in fact. She simply wanted her life back to the way it was. She had never cared what others thought of her - if anything, she had enjoyed others' fear toward her.
Gabrielle led Xena into the Hall, seeing it occupied with her personal guard. With a sigh, Gabrielle put her hands on her hips, quickly accompanied by Xena at her side.
"What is this? I thought I asked to be alone."
Ephiny spoke up first: "It was my decision to override your command, My Queen. My sincerest apologies. I just simply could not leave you with-"
"If this is how you all think of me ..." Gabrielle started, frustrated to be undermined in front of a woman such as Xena: a woman from whom she needed to earn respect in order to speak earnestly with her. "Then I'll take her to my room. Unless there's an army of women awaiting me there?"
Ephiny's eyes dropped to the floor, defeated. "No, My Queen."
Gabrielle turned and walked calmly out, missing the smile Xena couldn't hold in toward the others. Xena caught the glare in Ephiny's eyes, and understood the jealousy.
"Wonder what she'll do with me ..." Xena grinned, starting after Gabrielle in the most joyous state she'd enjoyed in a fortnight. Irritating a protective woman like Ephiny was a fantastic thrill. In truth, the feeling brought Xena back to her childhood, where she had irritated her younger brother, but that memory only hardened her. Her younger brother was dead.
Once inside her room, Gabrielle stood with her arms crossed: "Don't get any ideas."
Xena entered the place and admired it subconsciously. She inhaled, thinking of how she hadn't had a proper place to live in years. "I won't."
"Okay, the dust that Eph- ... one of my guards blew at Ares was magicked to send and exhaust him back to Mount Olympus. He'll have trouble finding you again, but I might only have a few more days left." She was frank with Xena because she knew Xena would understand her approach. "What I need from you is to make a deal with Poseidon."
Xena blinked at her, and arched a brow. "Say again."
Gabrielle heaved a lofty sigh. "I know how this sounds, but I don't want anyone to know. My father ... well, I've checked up on my parents, who were not always the best of people. My guards would think me crazy to stick my neck out for them, but my mother is so heartbroken without him that I fear for her life ... let me start from the beginning. My father was lost at sea."
"And this involves me because ...?"
"You have seen the gods and you speak to them. Isn't that true?"
As true as it was, Xena wondered if she should lie for the woman's sake. It wasn't always so easy, and she might not be able to come through. For some reason, she agreed instead. Gabrielle's truthfulness was infectious. "Yes ... but it's not so simple."
"I know. I think we have two days - maybe three. Could you do this for me?"
"You couldn't have just asked me, huh?"
"And how else does one get the almighty Xena's attention?"
Xena laughed for a beat or two, and lifted both her brows with a simple shrug of her shoulders. "I guess."
"So what do you think about-"
Their conversation was cut short as Xena's hand whipped up and caught something instinctively - an arrow just as it made its way to Gabrielle's temple. Gabrielle's breath was caught in her throat, and Xena twisted around to look to the open window at their side. Given the sounds of the tribe around them, Xena had thought nothing of the creaking and footsteps, but there in the window was an assassin. The bow was still taut in the assassin's grip - the arrow already shot.
"Isn't the practice range a few fields west?" Xena quipped, cracking the arrow in her hand as she looked to the woman in the window for answers.
Gabrielle finally gathered her breath, and put her hand to her chest. "Pheron?!"
"You know this girl?" Xena asked with disbelief.
"She's ... she's one of my personal guards," Gabrielle answered with shock and a terrible sadness.
Xena began to laugh because it came naturally, and she felt no reason to keep it in. There was a certain lightheartedness to the situation for her, and laughter didn't often come so easily. At times, she forced it to show her dark humor, but not often did she feel laughter flow so earnestly.
Gabrielle ignored the warrior standing between her and another arrow, and turned her attention to the traitor in her window. "What in Gods' names are you doing? Why - why are you doing this?"
"Because I can't trust your judgement anymore," Pheron answered with gritted teeth, pulling another arrow from her pack to set it in the bow. "Xena - you're in the way."
"You don't trust MY judgement?!" Gabrielle shouted from behind the taller, darker warrior who seemingly stood to protect her.
Pheron shook her head. "Buying a woman ... buying her as a slave and then demanding to have her alone ... it makes me sick. I thought I trusted you, but now I can't."
"Is that what you planned on doing with me?" Xena grinned, unable to help herself from taking another jab at the situation. "You sure have an odd way of warming a girl between the thighs ..."
Gabrielle's eyes shot around as a physical sign of her frustration before she spoke to Pheron again. "Now I have to charge you with treason! ... Do you have any idea what you've done - not just to yourself but to those who love you?"
Pheron ignored her and spoke to Xena instead. "Move and then run once I get my shot."
Xena snorted yet another laugh, crossed her arms and turned to the traitor at the window. She could hear the growls emanating from the petite blond at her back, and they only added to the hilarity of the situation she found herself in. "Sure ... so I can take the blame for killing this Amazon queen ... Because I enjoy being hunted down by a tribe of raging Amazons?"
Pheron became nervous as she realized that her task might not be so easily accomplished. The arrow pulled taut against the cord of her bow was pulled a little tighter, and she locked her eye on the queen once again.
"Wow ... what have I done without my own personal guard all these years?" Xena chided, becoming irritated herself with the woman at the window. "If you'll excuse us, we WERE having a private conversation."
"It's a matter of honor to all Amazons," Pheron explained quietly, still perched. "You wouldn't understand."
"Pheron-" Gabrielle started, interrupted by Xena.
"I don't have time for this!" Xena exploded, pointing to Pheron. "Put down that arrow and leave us or I'm gonna come over there and strangle you through the window!" It was said so loudly and with such vibration that Gabrielle wondered if maybe she had been missing out by insisting to keep a calm and collected tone with her staff.
Pheron nearly stumbled down to the ground, but managed to keep her balance. "I ... can't just leave."
"Okay then," Xena answered, storming over to the window just as Pheron went to leap to the ground - trapped by a sure grasp pinching at the base of her jaw. Quickly accompanied by Xena's other hand, the woman struggled until she collapsed dead to the ground.
Xena took a moment before turning around and catching the shock on Gabrielle's face. "What? I warned her. At least it saves you the business of her execution."
"You ... CAN'T just play executioner!" Gabrielle yelled, running to the window and looking down the ground at her ex-guard with a troubled sigh. "Oh gods ... what a mess ..."
"Now about this message to Poseidon," Xena asked impatiently, her arms coolly at her sides. Her posture remained undeterred. "What am I supposed to say to him?"
Gabrielle just stared at her, thinking of her personal guard's quick demise.
"What's your father's name anyway? Is he some sort of royalty like you?"
"He's a fisherman," Gabrielle corrected - still dazed. Her hand tenderly went to her forehead. "His ... name is Faelchus."
Xena rolled her eyes, and braced her hands on her lower back. "I don't know ... what do I get for doing this? Ares?"
"Is he ... what you want?" Gabrielle asked, forcing herself back into their conversation. Her grief would have to be kept on pause.
"Is it so shocking I'm interested in men? Typical Amazons to judge me for my interest in men."
"It's not that ... I just ... heard you were more interested in women."
Xena sighed. "Sometimes, yes. But Ares is something else. I need him." At that very moment, Xena blanched - the confession having slipped from her lips. If she had been talking to any other Amazon at that moment, she would have killed her to keep the confession from spreading, but Xena stood very still instead. She shared her panic within her eyes, and Gabrielle exhaled through her nose in return. Warriors of their stature were quite attuned to physical conversations.
"I'll help you find Ares again if you do this," Gabrielle agreed, sitting to rest her forearms on her knees. "I'll do whatever you need."
"Whatever I need?" Xena asked, a piece of her humor returning with the queen's promise. "That's an awfully dangerous promise to make."
Gabrielle ran her hand over her face: "Gods ... maybe I should just resign? ... The fact that I need so badly to help my parents ... I don't think I'm in the right frame of mind anymore for all this ..."
"Getting old?" Xena asked, instinctively sitting aside the blond warrior. She rested on her knees just the same way, knowing the bond of friendship when it came to greet her. Queen Gabrielle was a friend in wait - a friend in need - but could Xena lend her kindness to others? At that point in her life, she wasn't so sure. Instead of outward tenderness, Xena glanced over at the blond. "You feel something for me, huh?"
Ripping her head from the palms of her hands, Gabrielle glared at her in a defensive reaction. "What?"
Xena laughed for a moment and rubbed her eyes. "I mean like you can trust me to tell me all that. Right?"
Gabrielle observed the dark-haired woman for a long while, and slouched her shoulders. "Maybe I do."
"I won't hurt you on purpose," Xena admitted, adjusting her boots absent-mindedly as Gabrielle smiled at the childish sense of honesty the warrior was sharing with her. It felt like the start of a very important friendship - albeit a raw and uncertain one.
"Not on purpose, hmm?"
Xena gestured vaguely to Gabrielle's face. "Not again."
Gabrielle nodded and lent out her hand as a sign of trust. "A pact between us then. You do what you can to help my father and I'll do what I can when you need a favor. I can't promise help from the Amazons, but I promise myself."
Xena saw the hand hanging in wait, and against the voice she heard insisting she wasn't the sort, Xena met that hand with her own.
"Agreed."
After their agreement, Xena asked about the money Gabrielle had used to buy her, and Gabrielle admitted to having saved dinars for all her adult life in case of emergencies. When Xena asked if she spent all her saved money, Gabrielle said she didn't feel like sharing anymore. She insisted on a ruse of hunting so that Xena could leave to attempt to meet with Poseidon, and that Xena be shackled at night so the slave could find another place to sleep for the night instead of the cool and dungeon-esque cage.
Once Gabrielle made her way from the room, she called for Ephiny, who glared at the warrior behind her, but listened attentively as Gabrielle spoke of the incident with Pheron. Ephiny swore to take care of the situation, and gladly went for the wrist cuffs Gabrielle wanted for the slave.
"Where can she sleep?" Gabrielle asked.
Ephiny immediately offered her own services, insisting on being the one to keep an eye on the infamous and destructive warrior.
"It can be anywhere but the private rooms aside yours," Ephiny finished, gesturing to the building where Gabrielle slept. "I can sleep in the Hall or the Scrollerie."
"Yeah, maybe you can read me something," Xena grinned, catching another angry glare from the powerful guard.
"It's gonna be a long night if all I hear from you are smart remarks. You got that?"
Xena shrugged and looked off while Gabrielle stepped up to Ephiny. "You can sleep in the Hall. And please ... have patience." Then Gabrielle turned to Xena who caught her eye with a calmness she hadn't felt in quite some time. "And Xena ... I'm trusting you to sleep. Can I trust you?"
A slight nod was all she needed - a part of her fearing for Ephiny, should the warrior feel so inclined to do her harm. Instead of carrying that worry, Gabrielle re-adjusted the straps of her top and nodded in return.
"Good. Ephiny, you keep the cuffs. Xena wants to go hunt for her own food, and then she'll come back this evening to the Hall. Understood?"
As much as Ephiny wanted to resist Xena going out on her own, she nodded her understanding, and Xena left the queen and her guard standing together.
"You know the risk of what you're doing?" Ephiny started, seeing the certainty on Gabrielle's face.
"Yes."
"Okay then. The only thing we have to do is trust. I hope you keep a lot in me, because keeping her docile for an entire night will be difficult, Gabrielle."
When Ephiny spoke her given name that way, Gabrielle knew Ephiny didn't think it wise, but that only had Gabrielle smiling at her friend. "Yes, Ephiny. I have an ocean of faith in you, my friend. I will be there if I hear anything amiss," Gabrielle offered from the bottom of her heart.
"If you really care about me, you won't be."
Gabrielle regarded Ephiny - stunned. "What?"
"If you knew me really, Gabrielle ... you would know how much I care about you." Ephiny stated in so bold a way, Gabrielle's breath caught in her throat. "You would know I want to protect you ... The woman, not the symbol."
Gabrielle watched wide-eyed as Ephiny walked off.
The words had been spoken so honestly because Ephiny really worried she put her life in her hands by offering to take care of the infamous warlord. Ephiny worried she might not make it through the night if Ares himself had empowered Xena, and she wanted Gabrielle to have an inkling - at the very least - of how she felt for her, should she never get another chance.
Throughout dinner, Gabrielle sat and thought about the hours before, where she thought about what Ephiny had said. With each Amazon entering the Eatery, Gabrielle lifted her head to search for Ephiny, but she never entered. What little appetite Gabrielle had, she satisfied and then lifted herself from the bench.
"Everything alright, My Queen?" Leicka asked, almost tripping over her two feet. Just like many other women, she noted when the queen wasn't acting like herself. However, when anyone but Ephiny referred to Gabrielle as 'My Queen,' it seemed off.
Gabrielle nodded and smiled her way out of the building, patting her hands down onto her skirt and then clapping both hands together. It took her a dozen long strides to find the lead of her personal guard, sparring with Cerhu.
As the queen caught sight of the practice, a warm smile tugged at her lips, and she watched as she made her way over the fence of the match. Cerhu was a very muscular woman who looked masculine by nature with long hair always braided down her back. Ephiny, on the other hand, was not nearly as masculine with her curvature and her size. The fact that they matched each other in the skill of the fight only tugged harder at Gabrielle's growing smile.
The darkness of the evening was setting in slowly as the sun emanated stunning rays of orange and pink. Gabrielle quietly hoisted herself up on the lower half of the fence - using the panels of board as a makeshift seat to lean closer and watch.
The striking and parrying Gabrielle was witness to were impressive, to say the least, but she expected such expertise from the women before her. They had been trained all their lives - as was she - with the techniques of the Amazons. Though not seen as adequate competitors by some, the Amazons had defended and conquered more land than any other tribe in Greece. They were quiet about their victories, but not incapable. They were a humble people.
Even with the wood biting at the back of her thigh, Gabrielle was thoroughly enveloped in the scene. She rested her chin in the palm of her hand and grinned a little wider when Ephiny caught sight of her out of the corner of her eye, and tripped. She had spotted the very same clumsiness from Ephiny on a number of occasions, but Gabrielle had always been too distracted to realize why. Ephiny was interested in her romantically. Gabrielle purred quietly at the idea, covering her grin with her hand as Ephiny recovered from the fall to glance over Cerhu's shoulder at her. It was a bold look of curiosity, but Gabrielle did nothing to answer it. She simply sat and waited.
The entertainment ceased as Ephiny lifted her hand to Cerhu, signalling she'd had her fun. Cerhu looked in the direction Ephiny headed, and she sprinted ahead of the older guard with excitement in the presence of the queen. Ephiny paced herself meaningfully to watch Gabrielle smile and shake hands with the over-confident young woman only to nod her dismissal. It was clear Gabrielle was there to see one person specifically, and Ephiny had to focus so as not to stutter her first words.
"Gabrielle ... My Queen ..."
"I came to watch you ... I hope you take no offense," Gabrielle answered, straightening her back when Ephiny stepped a little closer. She had seen the interest in those deep, green eyes for the first time.
Knowing she had given herself away, Gabrielle moved to step down from the fence. She gave no time for Ephiny to react - she walked around the fence and strode up to her lead guard with confidence in her every breath.
"Do you want me?"
Ephiny nearly tripped over her two feet again, but spaced them apart to keep her balance. She looked to the ground out of habit: "No ... I mean ... where did you hear that?"
Gabrielle smiled: "From you."
When Ephiny looked up again at that porcelain face and the short hair tufting out at Gabrielle's ears, she could no longer hide her affections. She stared with love.
Instinctively, Gabrielle took another step closer, leaving only one step between them still.
"Ephiny ... why didn't you ever tell me?"
"If this is teasing ... I beg you to stop," Ephiny whispered, hurting inside at the prospect that it wasn't real - that Gabrielle was only playing.
Instead of words, Gabrielle used what she knew best: her actions. In one fluid movement, she stepped into Ephiny, and pulled her in for a tight embrace so she felt her breasts press nicely into the half-exposed breasts of her guard. To both of their shock, Gabrielle moaned at the feeling.
Ephiny combed one hand from the base of Gabrielle's neck, into her hair, and wrapped her other arm tightly around the slender waist. She breathed in and out, closing her eyes.
"Gabrielle ... what're you doing to me?"
Gabrielle moaned again at the very idea of their closeness, and tightened her arms over Ephiny's shoulders. "Nothing ... I just wanted to feel this."
"How long?" Ephiny croaked out, her knees threatening to give out on her.
Gabrielle licked her lips. "Ephiny ... could we ..." Gabrielle started, forcing herself to pull away to step flat onto her feet once again. "Could we ... speak privately?"
The look that Gabrielle gave her then melted Ephiny completely. Gabrielle wanted her. It was the look Ephiny had dreamed about night after night, and there it was before her - in reality. It was a look so feral and fierce that Ephiny mumbled a moan of her own at the very idea of having Gabrielle alone in the mood she was in.
Gabrielle started on her way to their rooms, but so many women were making their way around that Ephiny didn't trust herself to walk inconspicuously all that way. Instead, she called after Gabrielle and motioned to the nearest building for their conversation.
What was titled a conversation quickly turned into more as the two strong women found themselves alone. Ephiny barricaded the door and moved over to Gabrielle with the intent of lust in her eyes.
Her breath was shallow and her heart raced as she reached a hand out to Ephiny. She tugged on the top of her black leather skirt, and drew her so close their lips just nearly touched. They stood, panting together, until Gabrielle made her move and locked lips with the strong, passionate woman she had never allowed herself to objectify. She kissed Ephiny with all the excitement she had kept pent up inside herself over her past two years of abstinence. She wondered how long it had been since Ephiny had made love, but thought better than to ask. Even as the thought crossed her mind, Ephiny's hands on her distracted her of all logical thought.
Gabrielle had never seen an Amazon with such positive energy maintain the power and strength Ephiny did while still maintaining her femininity. And that woman was attracted to HER. Gabrielle moaned against Ephiny's thicker lips as her guard raced hungry hands over her back.
"I could just come back ...?"
Ephiny spun around as her instincts took her over, protecting Gabrielle's body with her own, still panting as she scowled at the figure in the doorway.
"What in Hades are you doing here?!"
Xena's outfit was crunched in a way that spoke of her vigorous exercise, but Ephiny wasn't wondering about Xena's adventures. She was angry about the interruption of her own. Again, she hissed at the intruder.
"Get out!"
"Alright. Am I free then?" she asked, reminding Ephiny of the reason for her appearance.
"We ... were just ..." Gabrielle began, laughing at herself mid-sentence as she pushed past Ephiny. "Well. I should ... get going. I'm sorry, Ephiny," she smiled with romance behind her eyes. "Bad timing."
"Gets the best of us all!" Xena chimed in a little too loudly for the situation.
Ephiny glared at her, which only fuelled Xena's irritating comments. Ephiny was reminding her of her younger days again.
"I mean ... I could always watch ..." Xena started again, cuing Ephiny's fists to dance their way over to her face, but Xena was quick to block the move.
Gabrielle put herself between them, and glared at Xena. "No more." Then, much softer, she turned to Ephiny and put her hands on the shoulders she was now allowed to admire. She pulled her eyes up to focus. "Keep calm and everything will be fine. Alright?"
Ephiny took that sincere advice to heart as Gabrielle left them alone in the Hall. Ephiny and Xena finally found some peace in the quiet between them.
As exhaustion set in, Xena couldn't help one last comment from slipping out: "She's not bad-looking, I'll say that ..."
"You'll say nothing if I cut out your tongue in your sleep."
Xena grinned in the dark against the glow of the candles set up around the edges of the Hall, and closed her eyes.
